Morning News Roundup

Just yesterday, we did a story about AAA raising insurance rates for Tesla owners based on their claims history. Today, new statistics from AAA show that teen drivers between the ages of 16 and 17 are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal car crash than older drivers, including older teens.

That’s according to a report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety issued in advance of what it calls the “100 Deadliest Days” of the year. That’s the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when the average number of deadly teen driver crashes increases by 15% compared to the rest of the year.

“Statistics show that teen crashes spike during the summer months because teens are out of school and on the road,” said Dr. David Yang, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety executive director. “The Foundation’s research found that inexperience paired with greater exposure on the road could create a deadly combination for teen drivers.”

After analyzing data collected over a period of years, the Foundation reported that, compared to all drivers 18 years of aga and older, drivers 16 to 17 are 3.9 times more likely to be involved in a crash and 2.6 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash. When compared to drivers 30 to 59 years old, they are 4.5 times more likely to be involved in a crash and 3.2 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash

“Parents are the front line of defense for keeping our roads safer this summer,” said Jennifer Ryan, AAA Director of State Relations. “It all starts with educating teens about safety on the road and modeling good behavior, like staying off the phone and buckling your safety belt.”

The data suggests the three most common causes of fatal crashes involving young teenage drivers are:

Distraction — talking to a passenger or using a smart phone while driving is involved in 60% of deadly crashes.

Failure To Use Seat Belts — 60% of young drivers killed in car crashes were not using their seat belt.

Speeding — Excessive speed is involved in the fatal crashes.

AAA encourages parents to get involved in protecting young drivers from their own bad judgment by modeling good behavior and setting rules for how young drivers are expected to behave while behind the wheel. That’s good advice, but about as effective as telling teens not to drink alcohol or engage in sexual experimentation, two things that are high on the list of things to do for most teens.

What the AAA survey does not take into account is the impact that digital technology can have on modern vehicles. Parents now have the ability to draw a digital fence around the area where their teenage children are allowed to go and set limits to how fast they can drive when behind the wheel. New driver assist systems like lane departure warnings and emergency braking systems can also act as digital nannies for teens who are just learning how to drive.

When Elon Musk talks about how programs like Tesla’s Autopilot can lower the number of car crashes, he means that digital assistants don’t get distracted, don’t experiment with drugs or alcohol, don’t get tired, don’t participate in road rage, and never lose focus on what they are doing.

Some people complain that Tesla uses the general public as guinea pigs in a giant beta experiment in which real world experience teaches Autopilot how to behave correctly. There is some merit to that argument, but isn’t letting young teen drivers with little to no experience drive on public roads pretty much the same thing?

Machines learn faster than teenagers, who often exhibit no observable ability to learn at all. They eliminate the irrationality associated with all human endeavor and compensate for the part of all vehicles proven most likely to fail — the nut behind the wheel.

Last weekend, people at the Mother’s Car Wax show in Long Beach, California, were treated to an unexpected visitor — a fully functioning Faraday Future FF91 beta car in frozen black livery. Looking like a cross between a Jaguar I-Pace and a Toyota Matrix, the all-electric SUV claims to have a 130 kWh battery and 1,500 horsepower. Without providing details, the company says it has created “the world’s highest energy density battery.”

The FF91 is claimed to have a range of 378 in the EPA test cycle and a 0–60 time of 2.39 seconds. It is built on what the company calls its Variable Platform Architecture. In theory, instead of doing what all other car companies do, which is build a chassis and then designing several models to fit it, Faraday Future will have a flexible chassis architecture that can be stretched or shortened, widened or made narrower, as needed to meet market demands. In theory, that will enable the company to respond rapidly to changes in consumer demand.

The FF91 will “feature retractable 3D Lidar” as part of “a complex sensor system including 10 high definition cameras, 13 long and short range radars, and 12 ultrasonic sensors.” The Lidar sensor is rather big and ugly, so it retracts when not needed in order to make the car more appealing from an appearance point of view.

Lidar is controversial. Elon Musk refused to use it for his cars because he says it doesn’t work well in rain or snow conditions. Cadillac is using Lidar for its new Super Cruise option in the CT6, but with a twist. Instead of fitting every car with a Lidar sensor, it will be equipping a fleet of cars with Lidar and use them to map US highways. (Super Cruise is only intended for use on limited access roadways.) It will then download the data gathered by the test fleet to actual customer cars via the cloud.

The Faraday Future FF91 may be a great car. But whether it ever goes into production is a matter of some conjecture. The company has run out of money and recently sold a parcel of land in Silicon Valley it was planning to use for its US headquarters. Construction of its factory in North Las Vegas ground to halt last fall and may never get started again. The FF91 you see here may become a true collector’s item — a one of a kind example of a car that never made it past the prototype stage.

Enzo Ferrari has been dead for nearly 30 years but his name is still a powerful force in Italy where the Ferrari legend is only slightly less revered than Michelangelo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This week, Italian police uncovered a plot to snatch the body of the great man from an above ground burial vault located in the San Cataldo cemetery in Modena, the next town over from Maranello where the factory that bears his name stands.

According to Reuters, police in the town of Nuoro on the island of Sardinia told a news conference they believe a gang had planned to demand a ransom after making off with the body. Apparently, the gang has made several trips to Modena to further its dastardly plan.

Police first learned of the plot during an investigation into gun runners and drug dealers. They used helicopters and parachute troops to serve 31 subpoenas on suspected criminals (Just driving up to the door to the door to serve legal documents is a good way to get killed in rural Italy it seems). After several arrests, some tongues were loosened and the nefarious cabal was revealed.

The idea was to snatch Ferrari’s body and hold it for ransom from either the Ferrari family or from the company — or both. When it comes to body snatching, the rules are fairly fluid. It is lucky for the thieves that their plot was foiled. Had they actually pulled this off, the Ferrari faithful, known worldwide as tifosi, would have tracked them down and created yellow and black cavallino rampante tattoos on their foreheads without the benefit of Novacaine.

I was privileged to witness the tifosi in action during the Italian grand prix in Monza last September. There is no more rabid group of sports fans in the world. They would not take kindly to their patrón being disturbed in such an insulting fashion.

The quick reactions of a 23-year-old passenger in a Tesla that was veering out of control likely prevented other vehicles from suffering personal and property damage.

Three members of a Fremont family were driving west on Highway 237 in California on Saturday morning about 10:45 a.m. The 55-year-old driver and father of the family, who apparently experienced a diabetic attack, lost consciousness behind the wheel. Although he was incapable of responding to driving conditions, the father continued to maintain his foot on the accelerator. Assessing the situation from the back seat of the Tesla, the son realized that he must intervene. He released his own seat belt, reached over the front seat, and grabbed the steering wheel.

At that point, the Tesla’s speed exceeded 80 miles per hour.

The poised son attempted to maneuver the car through a right curve but was unable to keep the car on the road. Instead, the Tesla abutted the left side of the Zanker Road off-ramp. In quick succession, with the driver still passed out, the Tesla ping-ponged between the on-ramp and the off-ramp, never finding stability on either. The vehicle then launched over the on-ramp and into an adjacent field, where it eventually came to rest.

The California Highway Patrol responded to emergency calls regarding the accident. A report from Officer Ryan Fifield on scene indicates that the driver broke his back. His 50-year-old wife, seated in the front passenger seat, suffered a broken left wrist and broken right ankle. The son has a broken left arm and broken pelvis. The three family members received treatment at Regional Medical Center.

The CHP did not release the names of the victims.

It does seem likely, however, that the son’s ability to evaluate the situation and respond with measured steps saved the crash from being more serious and from involving additional vehicles.

It’s already Friday, and with Friday comes June 1st. I have a lot of unpacking to do, and a missing cat to find (F. Wuzabear Esquire is noted for his hiding abilities) so let’s make this quick. Today’s highlights include a Colorado battery start-up, Chicago wants to have 0 traffic deaths in 10 years, and a giant bike vending machine.

It may be hard to believe, but we’re almost halfway through the year 2012. Do you have all of your affairs in order for the end of the world? Me neither. But I do have some green news stories to share with you all! Today’s highlights include Ferrari’s green factory, Ford’s sustainable Fusion and a cute electric off-roader from Brazil.

Annnd, I am back readers! Sorry for my extended absence, but homeownership comes with a number of unexpected burdens … including a complete rebuild of the bathroom. I won’t be back into the full swing of things until tomorrow, but – for now – here is the Green News Daily!

Today’s highlights include gas pumps converted into cool stuff, Volvo’s bio-diesel race car, and hybrid sales are set to soar.

Good morning! In a few minutes I am off to close on a house…but I felt compelled to write a few news stories first. Highlights include 4 million Toyota hybrids, students get suspended for biking to school, and Ford prices the 2013 Fusion.

Happy Monday dear readers! This is going to be a big week for me…I’m supposedly closing on a house on Wednesday. But don’t get too excited for me until I sign that paper. If it does happen (finally) then don’t expect to hear from me until NEXT Tuesday. I’ll try to get a few posts up here or there, but mostly you’ll be in the capable, if slightly smelly, hands of Mr. Jo Borras.

Happy Friday readers, and welcome to the last day of yet another week. The weather is warm and beautiful, and I hope to get out and enjoy nature this weekend. Just a few more stories to go! Today’s green news highlights include a 3,300 MPG racer, Mercedes will start selling a hydrogen-powered sedan in 2017, and China builds a green power super highway.

Michigan College Students Building 3,300 Mile “Racer” [New York Times]

Good morning, and Happy Birthday to my beautiful girlfriend Nicole! I’ve got a lovely weekend planned with her, but alas there’s still some work to do before then. Today’s highlights include the official EPA rating of the Tesla Model S, Kia is considering a diesel car, and an Electric Grand Prix gets under way.

It’s another happy Hump Day, so let’s get right on down to it. Today’s highlights include the challenges of scaling biofuel production, Porsche’s 918 hybrid hits the road, and turning old railroad tracks into a drunken booze ride.

Howdy howdy howdy, and welcome to the Green News Daily! Today I bring you a mixed bag stories from the world of alternative fuels. Highlights include Tesla’s plan to pay back government loans, Honda’s take on the Segway, and why Toyota plans to sell so few RAV4 EV’s.

Tesla Plans To Begin Paying Back Gov’t Loans This Year [Leftlane News]

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The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sustainable Enterprises Media, Inc., its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.